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Thawing, cooking, serving a turkey...helpful link

Well, our 20lb turkey is not thawing as fast as we would of liked due to the cold nature of the BEER Fridge (35-36 degrees)! So I thought I would get some help off of the web since we are dealing with poultry. Found this link that may be helpful to those of you that have run into the same issue or looking to improve over last year or are a rookies. Very helpful link from buying to thawing to cooking to serving...

Re: Thawing, cooking, serving a turkey...helpful link

Originally Posted by zach

Well, our 20lb turkey is not thawing as fast as we would of liked due to the cold nature of the BEER Fridge (35-36 degrees)! So I thought I would get some help off of the web since we are dealing with poultry. Found this link that may be helpful to those of you that have run into the same issue or looking to improve over last year or are a rookies. Very helpful link from buying to thawing to cooking to serving...

Re: Thawing, cooking, serving a turkey...helpful link

thaw your bird under tap water and continue thawing of the bird at refrigerated temperatures. do not thaw your bird overnight at room temperature. you could end with some type of food poisoning y doing this. when your bird has thawed,remove the lungs,kidneys,leaf fat and giblets.no need to keep the lungs,kidneys,or leaf fat as processors leave these in just to screw you on net weight.. after thawing of the bird,rinse the bird and giblets thoroughly with potable water.rub the bird with salt,olive oil and spices.stuff with dressing and roast until fully cooked. serve for thanksgiving dinner.serve with sides of cranberry jello,escalloped oysters,and choice of blueberry pie,pumpkin pie,strawberry-rhubarb pie,and apple pie.top your slice of pie with some whipped cream and top the whipped cream with some crushed pecans or pistachios.start your diet on friday morning!!!!!!!!!!!don't forget to serve your favorite scotch or wine as your main table beverage.

Re: Thawing, cooking, serving a turkey...helpful link

alton brown's roast turkey recipe and process has produced very consistent and delicious turkeys for me (last 5 have been the best I've ever had). Brining makes a HUGE difference, as long as you aren't starting with an "enhanced" or injected turkey.

As for the skin when you brine it, you can put the turkey on a rack in the fridge to let it dry for 3 hours or overnight (unwrapped, uncovered, etc). This will allow the skin to dry and then end up crispy again.

Otherwise, if you cook the bird at 500 degrees for the first 30 minutes, it will brown the skin nicely. Cover the breast with aluminum foil (turkey triangle) and finish cooking. The foil keeps the breast from cooking too fast as you want the dark meet to finish at 180 or so, while the white meat should be around 165 or so... (confirm those temps with the alton brown recipe)

I highly recommend getting a digital probe thermometer that you can leave in the bird while you cook it.

So after all that, I'm actually going to try and smoke my turkey, in a flower pot...

put the water in cooler with the salt (mines 54Qt cooler)
after salt dissolves, stir in stock and honey. add ice and stir
add turkey

I rub the bird with a little olive oil, smoetimes inject with beer/butter marinade I make. If you have seasoning for the outside put that on too. I have cooked birds this way for 5 years, oven, grilled, deep fried. It is always moist and browns well in the oven and on the grill. When I grill it is with constant apple wood smoke for 4 hours for 15# bird. I have never disappointed anybody.

Re: Thawing, cooking, serving a turkey...helpful link

alton brown's roast turkey recipe and process has produced very consistent and delicious turkeys for me
So after all that, I'm actually going to try and smoke my turkey, in a flower pot...

I'm going to try the Alton Brown method this weekend since I got a 20lb. turkey for 8 bucks at HyVee, can't go wrong with that price.
I take it you've also seen the Alton Brown flower pot smoker he's made too huh?

Re: Thawing, cooking, serving a turkey...helpful link

Originally Posted by johnpkelly81

I'm going to try the Alton Brown method this weekend since I got a 20lb. turkey for 8 bucks at HyVee, can't go wrong with that price.
I take it you've also seen the Alton Brown flower pot smoker he's made too huh?

What can't Alton do? I love how he makes everything easy, fun, and understandable.

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